


it's finally safe (for me to fall)

by breakthesewallsdown



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Green Arrow and the Canaries (TV), dinahsiren
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Lance Sisters - Freeform, Love Confessions, dinahsiren - Freeform, i love them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22584394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breakthesewallsdown/pseuds/breakthesewallsdown
Summary: “Yeah, how is the apartment hunting going anyway?” Dinah asks, voice flat, her eyes looking at a spot somewhere above Laurel’s shoulder.“It’s—It’s going okay,” Laurel says stiffly. She hates it. “I went to look at another place this morning. It was fine.”orlaurel is struggling with her feelings for dinah, so she goes to talk to sara about it. then she might just have to talk to dinah about it.
Relationships: Avalance if you squint, Dinah Drake & Earth-2 Laurel Lance, Dinah Drake/Earth-2 Laurel Lance, Dinah Drake/Laurel Lance, Laurel Lance & Sara Lance
Comments: 13
Kudos: 190





	it's finally safe (for me to fall)

**Author's Note:**

> DINAHSIREN NATION RISE !!! 
> 
> it's my first time writing this ship so pls be gentle as they may seem a bit ooc. i hope we get to see more of their relationship and how they are around each other in private in green arrow & the canaries. 
> 
> also english is not my first language so i apologize for any and all mistakes. this fic is un-beta'ed as usual. 
> 
> enjoy <3

It’s one in the morning and here she is. Ringing the doorbell of her not-sister’s house. 

To be fair, Laurel’s not quite used to the time traveling yet. She was hoping to have arrived earlier, but alas. At least she didn’t time portal into the living room, or worse, of the house.

The house Sara Lance shares with her girlfriend, Ava Sharpe. Laurel never would’ve thought she’d find herself in this position. Never in a million years did she think that she would be this desperate, that she’d have to go talk to Sara. Laurel knows they’re sisters on another earth, and were sisters on this one, but it’s weird. Because this Sara is not her sister. Though Sara looks at her like she is and maybe Laurel feels that same kind of connection that she used to have with her Sara. It’s just… different. 

But Laurel didn’t know who else to turn to. She can’t talk about this with Felicity, at least not really. She definitely can’t talk about this with Quentin. And to be fair, she doesn’t really have a lot of different options other than those two. She didn’t even consider talking to Dinah about this, because, well. You know. Talk about the devil. 

It takes a few seconds before Laurel hears movement, but then she hears footsteps and the unlocking of the front door. It swings open to Sara meeting her gaze, looking slightly confused.

A voice from inside, most likely Ava, says, “Babe, who is it?” 

Sara turns her head, “It’s, uh, Laurel.” 

When she turns back towards Laurel she seems less confused and more worried. As if she either thinks Laurel’s there to start trouble or someone else started trouble and they need Sara to fix it. Laurel figures she might as well come clean straight away. 

“Everything is okay. I’m sorry to bother this late. Or, well, early. I just—I needed to talk to someone. To you.” 

“Me?” 

Laurel just nods, not knowing what else to say. She also finds it oddly uncomfortable that Ava is just standing a few feet behind Sara, arms folded across her chest, looking at her as if she’s trying to rob them. She figures it’s because she never really introduced herself properly and they barely know each other. 

“Okay,” Sara says carefully, moving aside so Laurel can enter, “That’s okay. Come in?” 

Taking a deep breath, Laurel steps into the house. She silently follows Sara into the living room, watching how Ava wanders near the door, obviously not sure what to do. Laurel feels rude for asking her to leave, but she’s also not sure she wants to talk about her feelings in front of a woman she barely knows. 

Sara seems to think alike, because she approaches Ava and whispers something to her, one of her hands softly holding onto Ava’s upper arm. Her thumb stroking soft circles on the other woman’s arm as they talk. Ava ends up nodding before she presses a quick kiss against Sara’s forehead. 

“Goodnight, Laurel.” She says, sending her a small smile. 

“Goodnight.” 

Ava leaves the room then, leaving Sara and Laurel by themselves. There’s an awkward silence hanging over them the first few seconds, but then Sara crashes down onto the couch and pats the space next to her. Laurel hates herself for what she’s about to say and do, but she sits down anyway. Who else to be vulnerable with than her sister, right? 

“Do you want anything to drink?” Sara asks. 

“No, it’s okay. Thank you for letting me in.” 

She means in more ways than one and she hopes Sara understands. By the look the other woman is sending her, Laurel figures she does. Then Sara turns towards her on the couch, eyes turning serious. Laurel recognizes this from her Sara. She used to do the same when they talked. 

“What’s up?”

Laurel’s first instinct is to shrug and brush it off, but that’s not why she came here. She came here just to make herself talk, because she knows Sara will drag it out of her. At least Laurel hopes she will. So she clears her throat and braces herself. 

“Can I ask you something first?” 

Sara frowns slightly, leaning back against the couch, “Of course.” 

“How did you know you wanted to be with Ava?” 

Then there’s a smile on Sara’s face and Laurel knows she asked the right question. She knows, just by the look on Sara’s face, that this is it for Sara. She doesn’t even need to know Sara’s answer. Just this look is enough of an answer to her question. But Sara’s smile only grows as she lets out a sigh. A happy sigh, as if getting to talk about Ava is her favorite thing in the world. 

“It’s funny, you know? Because we used to hate each other. I couldn’t stand her. She wanted to _arrest_ me. Throw me in prison. We’ve fought so many times, it’s insane. But over time it started to be different. I didn’t start a fight simply for the sake of it. I just genuinely wanted her to pay attention to me, even if it was negative, you know?” 

Laurel just nods. 

“And I think, the first time I realized I wanted to be with her, was when she disobeyed her boss to come help me. I was in… serious trouble. And she wasn’t allowed to come help us, but she did anyway. I think that changed everything.” 

“So… How do you _know_?” 

“I just felt it in my gut. Whenever I looked at her, or whenever I was around her, I just felt at peace. Like everything was going to be okay. Like I was going to be okay. She made me feel as if I could take on the world. She still makes me feel like that.” 

Laurel tries to take it all in. She can relate to what Sara’s saying. That’s exactly how Dinah is making her feel. Dinah makes her feel like she’s on top of the world, yet she also grounds Laurel when she needs it most. Where Laurel is passionate and angry, Dinah is calming and loving. She knows how to calm Laurel down, she knows how to make her feel better. She knows when to listen, or when to talk. She knows how to handle Laurel. Better than anyone ever has before. 

“What are you thinking about?” Sara asks, noticing the far-away look on Laurel’s face. 

Laurel chuckles sadly. “Just about what you were saying.” 

“You got someone on your mind?” 

“I—,” She’s about to get defensive, but decides against it. She’ll help no one by retreating back to her old ways. “Yeah. I do.” 

Sara nods. “You want to talk about it?” 

And of course she does. That’s why she’s here. It’s just that Laurel’s more of an act first, think later kinda girl and talking about things like feelings or thoughts isn’t something she’s necessarily good at. She’s never really had to before, anyway. All her life was about was fighting and killing and terror and pain. She’s not used to having people around that care about her—that she cares about in return. She’s not used to people staying and putting in effort. She’s not used to having a family. After her father died she went from foster home to foster home, started spiralling, engaging with the wrong people and she ended up losing everyone and everything she loved. 

Being here, with these people, this new family she’s found herself, it’s strange. It takes some getting used to. 

“I think so, yeah.” Laurel admits then, finally. “I’m just not sure where to start.” 

“Wherever you want.” 

“I’ve just never felt like this about anyone before. My life back on Earth 2 didn’t leave much room for any type of relationship, let alone one that lasted longer than a night. I’m not used to wanting to be around someone or wanting to talk to someone, like I’m a lovesick teenager. It makes me feel sick. But Dinah, she’s just, I—I don’t know.” 

Sara laughs gently at that, shaking her head. “Are you surprised? You never got to experience a childhood crush. Of course this is going to be weird.”

“I just—I don’t know what to do?” 

“Well, what do you want to do?” 

Laurel hesitates at that. Because, really? She just wants to go home and talk to Dinah and tell her how she feels and kiss her. Finally. She’s been wanting to kiss her for so long that she doesn’t even remember a time she didn’t want to. Laurel feels like she’s always been thinking about kissing Dinah. 

“I want to tell her how I feel. I think.” 

“Okay.” Sara says, “That’s great. What’s holding you back?” 

“Everything. Our history. The fact that I’m _me_. The fact that I shouldn’t still be here, but your sister should be. It should be _her_ that’s sitting here and not me. Dinah deserves better than a dumb copy of what’s supposed to be.” 

“Hey, don’t do that,” Sara mutters, scooting closer and putting her hand on Laurel’s knee. “You’re here for a reason, I’m sure of that. Even if it’s just to tell Dinah how you feel.” 

Laurel shakes her head, not quite believing a word Sara’s saying. Ever since Oliver rebooted the universe she can’t stop thinking about it all. Sometimes she wishes that J’onn never gave her the memories back. It might’ve made everything easier. 

“It’s just not that easy. I killed her boyfriend. I tried to kill _her_. She deserves better than that.”

“You’re not that person anymore, Laurel. Listen to me.” Sara squeezes her knee, “I am an ex-assassin. I killed people for a living. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. Just like you. It’s what we had to do to survive. But we’re not those people anymore, okay? I’ve changed and you have, too.” 

Laurel looks at her, sight blurry because of tears she desperately hopes won’t fall. “I—” 

“Dinah knows that, too. Hell, she knows that better than anyone. Like you said, you tried to kill her. And now you’re out there, together, fighting crime. She wouldn’t be who she is today if it wasn’t for you. Just like you wouldn’t be who you are now, without her.” 

Sara pulls her into a hug before Laurel can even try to say anything. She can’t help but reciprocate. Laurel clings onto Sara’s back as if her life depends on it, just desperately needing someone to hold her. Sara rubs her back softly, whispers sweet nothings in her ear as Laurel silently lets a few tears roll down her cheeks. She’s not sure what got into her, but hearing her sister’s voice and seeing her sister’s face is just what she needed. 

“Dinah would be so lucky to have you.” Sara says as she pulls back, her hands still on Laurel’s shoulders, “And as far as the sister thing goes. You’re right where you’re supposed to be, okay? And you can always come talk to me. That’s what sisters are for, right?” 

Laurel can’t help but smile, the thought of her having a sister again making her heart feel light for the first time in ages. 

—

When Laurel portals back into Dinah’s living room, back in 2040 at a proper time, she’s met with Dinah stood behind the stove, stirring in a pot. She looks up as Laurel enters the room, a smile immediately appearing on her face. It’s almost like she lights up as she looks at her. Laurel’s breath hitches in her throat.

“Hey.” Dinah says, turning off the stove. “Just in time for dinner. I made your favorite.” 

“You did?” 

Dinah nods, grabbing the pot and walking over towards the kitchen table. “I did.” 

Laurel’s heart swells and she just wants to kiss her then and there. But she keeps herself together and just walks over towards Dinah, quickly squeezing her hand before sitting down at the table. The food smells delicious and she honestly can’t wait to dig in. The whole conversation with Sara was a bit exhausting. 

Dinah puts some food on both their plates and sits down in front of her, their feet brushing together softly. Laurel quickly sits up straighter. They talk a bit about their days and about what they’ve been up to. Laurel asks about the bar, Dinah asks about the Canaries. They’re busy training three girls now, Laurel taking responsibility for most of the martial arts training while Dinah manages the bar. There’s this one girl, her name’s Piper, and Laurel thinks she’s got a lot of potential. They all do, honestly, but if Laurel had to pick her favorite it’d be her. Not that she does favorites, but it’s whatever. 

“Mia called,” Dinah says after a short silence, “She asked when we’re free for dinner.” 

Laurel groans. Right. Mia wants to go out for dinner with JJ and the two of them. It almost feels like a double date and Laurel hates it. Well, she doesn’t _hate_ it, but she genuinely wishes it was a real double date. When it hit her, a few months back, that she wanted to take Dinah out on dates she was in a bad mood for days on end. Wasn’t a great time. 

“Right, I forgot about that.” Laurel lies through her teeth, “How about next week?” 

“I’ll try to set up a date.” 

A date. Laurel would very much like to bang her head against the table at Dinah’s choice of words. Literally. Just bang her head against the table right here, right now. But for the sake of keeping up appearances she just smiles and nods, because it’s what makes Dinah happy and as long as Dinah’s happy, Laurel can take anything.

They finish dinner mostly in silence, just ever so often a little question or a teasing remark. Laurel thanks Dinah for dinner and offers to clean the table while Dinah takes a shower. Dinah squeezes her hand over the table before heading towards the bathroom, leaving Laurel to sit by herself and think about how she’s too much of a scaredy-cat to tell Dinah how she feels. 

Laurel quickly makes work of the table and the dishes, rinsing the plates before putting them in the dishwasher, just because she knows Dinah hates it when leftovers get stuck in the dishwasher. She finishes off cleaning the table with a wet cloth before leaning back against the counter, rubbing her hand over her face. She doesn’t know what to do. It’s so easy to think about telling Dinah everything, but then she sees her and Dinah smiles at her and Laurel just chickens out. She hates herself for it, really. 

Laurel used to be scared of literally nothing. But then Dinah Drake came along and here she is, even too scared to talk. 

She’s still leaning against the counter, face in her hands, when Dinah gets back from the bathroom. Her hair’s still wet, falling down her shoulders, and she’s just wearing a tank top and sweats. Laurel thinks she looks amazing. Beautiful. 

Dinah throws her a confused look, probably wondering why she’s still randomly standing in the kitchen, but Laurel just smiles at her and shakes her head. Wordlessly trying to tell her not to worry. But knowing Dinah she does anyway. So Laurel’s not surprised when Dinah walks over to her and comes to a halt in front of her, just inches away. 

“You okay?” 

Laurel looks up at her, “Fine. Like always.” 

Dinah scoffs, but her eyes are gentle, “I know you better than that.” 

And Laurel knows that. Of course she does. But pretending everything is fine is better than having to explain everything. It’s better than having to be vulnerable and potentially getting her heart broken. To be fair, sometimes she thinks Dinah feels the same way, but then something inside Laurel shifts and she just shuts Dinah out again. Shuts herself off from feeling anything. 

She’s a little tired of it, really. 

“Just got a lot on my mind. The Canaries. Apartment hunting. Blah blah.” 

“Yeah, how is the apartment hunting going anyway?” Dinah asks, voice flat, her eyes looking at a spot somewhere above Laurel’s shoulder. 

“It’s—It’s going okay,” Laurel says stiffly. She hates it. “I went to look at another place this morning. It was fine.”

“Fine?” 

Laurel shrugs. It wasn’t very fancy or anything and Laurel thinks the shower might be broken anyway, but she’s been staying at Dinah’s for way too long and at this point she’d take anything to make things hurt less. The fact that she also feels like she’s invading Dinah’s space by being here isn’t helping. So for Dinah’s sake she’d take any apartment. 

“Not perfect, but it’d be good enough, I guess.” 

“Oh.” 

Oh? 

Dinah turns slightly, her lower lip tucked between her teeth. Her shoulders seem tense and her hands are loosely balled into fists and Laurel frowns. She doesn’t know where the sudden 180 came from. At first Dinah was all about her getting her own place, but now whenever she talks about it Dinah seems to hate the idea. She always gets quiet when Laurel talks about a potential apartment. Gives Laurel short answers, doesn’t look her in the eye, changes the subject after two minutes. Just like—

“Wanna watch a movie?” 

And Laurel is stunned. 

“You don’t want to know more about the apartment? Where it is? How far away it is from here? What I like about it?” 

Dinah looks at her then, a small crinkle just in between her eyebrows. “I—Yeah, sure.” 

“It’s two blocks away from here, so I could easily come over daily for the Canaries,” Laurel starts, noticing how Dinah looks away as she mentions the girls, “And I like the view from the balcony, it’s—” 

She stops talking when Dinah looks at the ground, her shoulders slumping. Laurel’s confused, really. It’s the first time that Dinah’s acting like this. Normally at least she’d pretend to be listening at least. Now she’s just standing there, looking at her toes, picking at her nails. 

“Dinah?” 

Dinah looks at her then. “Yeah?” 

“Is everything okay?” 

“I—Yeah. Everything is great. I’m happy for you.” 

It almost sounds like a goodbye, or a break-up, or whatever else feels this painful. But Laurel’s not about that, so she takes a small step closer and tilts Dinah’s face up slightly. 

“Dinah.” 

Dinah shakes her head, inching away from Laurel just a bit, “It’s nothing, I promise. It’s stupid.” 

She turns, then, and walks away. Laurel is stunned for a moment, but rushes after her. She catches Dinah by the wrist just as they reach the couch, her skin feeling warm in Laurel’s grasp. Dinah lets out a small sigh. 

“If it matters to you it’s not stupid.” Laurel whispers, voice sounding softer than she intends. She decides then and there that it’s no use to keep up appearances. She might as well just be vulnerable. 

“I’m just being dumb, Laurel. I promise.” Dinah tries to wave it off. 

Laurel tugs her closer, her grip tightening on Dinah’s wrist as her thumb gently rubs small patterns on her skin. “You’re not. Talk to me. Please?” 

“I just—,” Dinah sighs, rolls her eyes, “When I think about you leaving I just… I get sad. I don’t like it when you talk about a potential apartment. I don’t know why. I guess I’m just used to having you here.” 

Laurel’s eyes widen. What’s Dinah saying? That she doesn’t want her to leave? But what does it _mean_? 

“See. I told you it’s stupid.” 

Dinah gently pulls her wrist out of Laurel’s hand and sits down on the couch. Laurel just stands there for a moment, trying to make sense of it all. 

“So, you… You encouraged me to find a place of my own, even helped me look for one,” Laurel mutters, mostly to herself, “and now that I might’ve found a place you’re telling me, what? That you don’t want me to leave?” 

She doesn’t mean to sound as harsh as she does—she really doesn’t. But it’s her instincts and her walls and her fear. Laurel hates herself for it, especially when Dinah looks up at her with sad eyes. It’s only for a second, because as soon as Laurel meets her eyes, Dinah looks back down at her hands. She’s picking at the skin between her fingers and it’s making Laurel nervous. 

“I know.” Dinah snaps, more annoyed with herself than Laurel, “It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t matter.” 

Laurel shakes herself out of it and crouches down before her, “Yes, it does. It does matter. A lot. I’m just confused. About a lot of things.” 

Dinah looks at her, because it’s kind of hard not to when Laurel’s on her knees in front of her, basically begging to be looked at. They stare at each other for what feels like an eternity. So close, yet so far away. Laurel wants to lean in. She wants to tug Dinah down by her shirt and kiss her. She looks so sad, so beautiful. 

“Me too.” Dinah whispers, not once taking her eyes off Laurel. 

“What do you want me to do, Dinah?” Laurel asks, her hands palms up on Dinah’s thighs, “Say the word and I’ll do it. Whatever you want.” 

Dinah lets out a shaky breath, one of her hands carefully taking hold of Laurel’s, their fingers brushing together as if they’re supposed to. “What if I want you to stay?” 

“Then I’ll stay.” Laurel replies without hesitation. 

She’ll sleep on Dinah’s couch for years if she has to. If it makes Dinah happy. Dinah seems to hesitate then, her hold on Laurel’s hand tightening. Her mouth opens as if she wants to say something, but then she doesn’t. And again. Her eyes flicker from Laurel’s eyes to her lips, back to her eyes, to a spot behind Laurel, back to her lips. It’s making Laurel’s stomach flip. 

“What if I want you to kiss me?”

Laurel’s world flips upside down. 

She looks at her. Sees the honesty and vulnerability in Dinah’s eyes, something she’s never really seen before. Laurel doesn’t know what to do. It seems too good to be true, seems like a dream, seems like it’s just not real. But Dinah is right here, looking at her, holding her hand, wanting to kiss her. And Laurel is frozen in place. 

“I—I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. I just thought, you know, you’re—We’re—I don’t know what I was thinking, I—”

Dinah doesn’t get to finish that sentence, because Laurel’s free hand cups the back of Dinah’s neck as she pulls her down, pressing their lips together _finally_. 

Laurel never thought that the first time they kissed each other would be this soft, this cosy, this intimate. She thought it’d be in battle. Or just a heated kiss after an argument or a fight. Literally anything but this. In Dinah’s apartment, on the couch, late at night. 

Dinah’s fingers tangle in Laurel’s hair as she pulls her closer, Laurel leaning up to be as close to her as possible. Their fingers tangling together in Dinah’s lap, squeezing tightly as they pull away from each other for air. Laurel leans her forehead against Dinah’s, chuckling breathlessly. She doesn’t know what to say. She’s not sure if she should say anything. 

“You—You kissed me.” 

“I did. Yeah.” 

Dinah laughs, then. It’s beautiful and comforting and probably Laurel’s most favorite sound. She vows, then and there, that she’ll try her best to make Dinah laugh for the rest of their lives together. Laurel smiles at the thought of getting to spend every day with Dinah. To kiss Dinah whenever she wants, whenever she can, whenever Dinah wants. She can finally take her on dates. She can cook her breakfast. She can buy her flowers, just because. Laurel doesn’t think she’s ever been this happy.

“I don’t want you to leave.” Dinah confesses again after what feels like hours.

“Then I won’t.” 

“I don’t want you to sleep on this couch anymore.” She says and Laurel’s smile grows wider. 

“Then I won’t.” 

“I want you to kiss me again.” 

And Laurel doesn’t need to be told twice. She gets up on her feet just long enough to straddle Dinah’s waist, both her arms now around Dinah’s neck. Their noses brush together, sending a shiver down Laurel’s spine. God, this woman. 

And then she kisses her. She kisses her for as long as her lungs will let her. Kisses her until her lips are bruised and her body is aching and her hands are on fire from touching Dinah wherever she can. Laurel’s never felt this way about anyone. She never wants it to stop. 

“God, I’m-,” she kisses Dinah again, “I’m so in love with you.” 

Dinah pulls back at that, eyes wide and shocked, but happy. “You are?” 

“Yeah.” Laurel whispers. “Is that okay?” 

Dinah doesn’t say anything at first. Just pulls Laurel back in and kisses her again. And again. And again. And again. Until Laurel thinks that she’s not going to say anything at all. But then she kisses Laurel’s cheek and pulls her into a hug. 

“That’s more than okay. That’s perfect.”


End file.
